by Julie Cannon
“Sounds like you should have kept your hands to yourself.”
She couldn’t keep from laughing. “Don’t I know it.” She was surprised that the man seemed to take her confession in stride.
“If you could do it all over again, would you?”
She turned her head and looked at the man. He was probably in his late seventies, had a fresh haircut and neatly trimmed beard, and wore a wedding ring. He was soft-spoken, unthreatening, and very easy to talk to. In another time she envisioned they could be friends.
She answered honestly. “Yes.”
“Sounds to me like you need to figure out how you’re going to get out of this mess. You’re obviously bright and successful,” he said, quickly surveying her suit, then looked back toward the fountain in front of them. “And you have a good head on your shoulders. You know what you need to do.”
They both sat quietly for several minutes. She thought about what the man had said. He didn’t pass judgment or give advice. He didn’t condemn her for her choices or tell her what he thought she should do. He simply listened and lobbed the ball back into her court. Finally she glanced at her watch, shocked to see that over an hour had passed since she’d stormed out of Emery’s meeting.
“I’ve got to go,” she said, standing up. “Thank you for sharing your bench with me.” She impulsively extended her hand. “Mister…”
With some effort, the man politely stood and took her hand. “Baines. Jonathon Baines.”
“Thank you Mr. Baines,” she said warmly, grasping his hand between both of hers. This time he looked a little lonely. “You were exactly what I needed.”
“I’m here most days at this time, simply enjoying the day,” he said, smiling warmly.
“Maybe I’ll see you again,” she said, realizing that she meant the sometimes-empty comment. She gathered her things and set off back toward her office, still not clear about what she would do but more determined than ever to figure it out.
Chapter Twenty-three
“I’ll leave you two powerful executives to talk while I go and be a simple mommy,” Lauren said, taking Grace from Dana’s arms. Dana had invited herself over for dinner, and she and Elliott were sitting on the patio enjoying an unusually warm evening. She still couldn’t believe that Grace was already four months old. Where did the time go?
“You’re very lucky, Elliott.”
“And I thank God every day,” Elliott said, lifting her feet to rest on the chaise lounge.
“You have a great job, a beautiful baby, and a woman who loves you as much today as she did the first day you met.” Dana was envious.
“I wouldn’t go that far. Lauren hated me the first time we met.” Elliott took a sip of her drink.
“She was just playing hard to get,” she replied. They both laughed.
“And she did a great job. I had to chase her until she caught me.” Elliott twirled the wide gold band on her left hand.
“Is being the head of Foster McKenzie everything you’d thought it would be?” Elliott was the CEO of the company her father had built and her uncle had almost destroyed.
“Sometimes it’s more and sometimes it’s less. It depends on the day and the situation. But overall I’d say yes.”
“Do you ever just want to walk away and say to hell with it and its constraints?”
“Same answer.”
She sipped on the fresh cocktail Lauren had given her a few minutes before taking Grace and leaving them alone on the patio.
“Have you ever been torn in different directions? Conflicted as to what you should do, you know, in something really big? Something that could ruin you professionally.”
Elliott shifted in her chair. “What’s going on, Dana? Is something wrong at Martin?”
“Dana?” Lauren’s voice was filled with concern as she stepped out onto the deck. Elliott moved her feet and Lauren sat down facing her.
“You’ll never guess.” She shook her head. She hardly believed it herself.
“Emery made a pass at you,” Lauren said, frowning. “I’m going to kick her ass if she hurts you.”
She knew Lauren would do it too. “No, she didn’t.” She emphasized the word she but Lauren didn’t notice.
Elliott guessed. “Somebody knows about you two.”
“Are you in some kind of trouble?” Lauren leaned forward and laid a comforting hand on her leg.
“Yes and no.” This time Elliott sat forward.
“Do you two want me to leave?”
If she was in legal trouble she could discuss it with Lauren under the protection of the attorney-client privilege. Lauren couldn’t disclose anything she said without running the risk of losing her license to practice law. Elliott, however, did not benefit from that same cloak of confidentiality.
“No, Elliott, please stay. I value your input and point of view.”
“You’re making me nervous, Dana. Tell us what’s going on.”
She spent the next forty minutes describing the shit that had piled up around her. They asked a few clarifying questions along the way but basically let her go at her own pace. She was furious as she recalled the conversations with Sharon Plenner, disgusted describing Jim Bethel, and almost detached when she detailed the incident with Camille Hastings. She told them how she’d lost it with Emery earlier today and about her conversation with the sweet old man at the park. By the time she was done she was exhausted.
“Wow,” Elliott said simply.
“I’ll kill her if she hurts you…that other woman…what was her name…Hastings?” Lauren said forcefully.
“Lauren,” Elliott said.
“I’m just spouting off.” Lauren sighed loudly. “I have to get my emotions out before I can think clearly on this one.”
“Too bad,” Dana said sarcastically. “That would take care of one of my problems.”
“What are you going to do?” Elliott looked perturbed
“I don’t know. Bethel is a pest and I’m going to tell him to take a hike. I told Sharon I would not be her pipeline and have been dodging her ever since. I’m worried, though, about what she might do to Emery.”
“Are you going to tell Emery about her?” This time Lauren asked.
“She probably already knows,” Elliott said. “If Emery is as sharp as you say she is, Dana, and as astute as everything I’ve read about her, she already knows who’s in her camp and who’s waiting on the sidelines stoking the fire.”
“But what if she doesn’t? She has a right to know.”
“Then tell her,” Lauren said simply.
She nodded several times, knowing it would be a difficult conversation but one she had to have with Emery. She cared too much to see her get blindsided and her reputation sullied by the likes of Sharon.
“What are you going to do about Camille Hastings?”
“I have no fucking clue. She’s got me by the short hairs—no pun intended.” She chuckled. “If I don’t do what she wants she’ll tell the Feds. I won’t be the cause of Emery’s downfall.”
“If you do what she wants she may still tell,” Elliott said carefully. “Industrial blackmail is nothing to take lightly, and that’s exactly what she’s doing. Do you really think she’ll just forget about what she saw, or hand over the pictures she has of you and Emery? This is the digital age…they are forever.”
“Elliott.” Lauren began to chastise her.
“No, Lauren,” Elliott said, turning quickly to face her. “Dana needs to hear this. I know what I’m talking about.” Elliott redirected her attention to Dana. “Trust me. The Camille Hastingses of the world will not stop at one time. She will hold this over your head for the rest of your life, or until she believes her information is no longer valuable.”
Elliott took Dana’s hands in hers. “You are my wife’s best friend, and along with that comes my love and commitment to your welfare and happiness. I can help you.”
Elliott’s statement hung in the air. Lauren stared at Elliott as if she had just disco
vered something frightening about the woman who’d shared her life all these years. Dana instinctively knew what Elliott was talking about and didn’t want to put her or Lauren in the middle of this. “No, Elliott.”
“Let me help you, Dana,” Elliott said softly.
“I can’t.” Dana despised the quiver in her voice.
“Why not?”
She didn’t answer but simply looked between Lauren and Elliott. Lauren’s expression was her answer. Suddenly she stood.
“Dana, I am your friend and an attorney, and as an attorney I am bound to uphold and report any violations of the law that I am aware of. You are my best friend and one of the three people I love more than life itself. And as your friend I’m telling you that I will always be your friend first and your attorney second. Now, if you two ladies will excuse me, I think I hear the baby.”
She sat stunned at Lauren’s words. “Did she just do what I think she did?” Elliott nodded but didn’t say anything. “Did she just disavow any knowledge of anything we do to Camille Hastings?” Elliott nodded again.
“God, I love that woman.”
She and Elliott talked for several hours, and when she left it was close to midnight. She had declined Lauren’s offer of the guest room and drove home much more optimistic about her future.
Chapter Twenty-four
“Camille, come in,” Dana said as she closed the door behind her well-dressed blackmailer. “Please, sit down, won’t you?”
Camille Hastings glanced around the large office before settling into one of the chairs across from Dana’s desk.
“Nice suit,” Camille commented, after setting her purse on the floor and crossing her legs.
“Thank you.” Dana had taken extra care with her appearance this morning. She was wearing what she called her “don’t fuck with me” suit, and she felt fabulous and confident. “I won’t offer you something to drink,” she said pleasantly, sitting deep in the leather chair behind her large desk. “You won’t be here that long.”
Camille replied smugly. “Really.”
“Yes, really. I suppose you’re wondering why I asked to meet you here…in my office…just down the hall from Emery’s office…in the headquarters of Martin Engineering?” She paused during her question, for maximum effect.
“I will admit I expected our next conversation to be…how shall I put it…in a more intimate surrounding.”
Her skin crawled as Camille’s eyes crudely settled on her breasts and she licked her lips.
“Then let me enlighten you, Camille. You are here because you don’t scare me. You and your threats are nothing to me. Who do you think you are, threatening me? Do you think I’m some little chippie you can scare into sleeping with you? Do I look that stupid? Do I look like I have shit for brains?” Her confidence soared at Camille’s shocked expression. Elliott had prepared her well.
“How many other women have you pulled this crap on? Oh, no, wait.” She held up her hand, as if to stop Camille from answering even if she could. “Let me answer my own question.” She ticked the names off on her fingers. “Let’s see there were Joan, Rebecca, Carol.” She paused. The spark of fear in Camille’s eyes told her she had made her point. “Do I need to continue? You know I can.”
Camille shook her head and said nothing. Her once-rosy complexion was now quite pale and her jaw so slack her mouth was almost open. Thank you, Elliott.
“I didn’t think so. Now let me tell you something.” She had yet to raise her voice or even uncross her legs. “If you ever dare to threaten me, Emery, or anyone else I love again, you will have me to answer to. And if you’re thinking about mentioning this to your brother, just ask him about Tidewater. I’m sure he’ll be able to change your mind.” She dropped the name of the company Elliott had given her, along with the information as to what exactly Bethel had to hide regarding his dealings with the manufacturer. “And let me assure you, I can dump more shit on you than you can even begin to imagine. Now take your Botox face, fake boobs, and pathetic little threats and get out of my office.”
Yes, Elliott had indeed prepared her well.
Chapter Twenty-five
“Emery?” Dana asked, standing in the doorway of her office. Emery looked up. “You got a minute? I’d like to talk to you about something.” She was glad that her voice didn’t seem to mimic the butterflies dancing around in her stomach. She had tried to eat lunch an hour ago, but her stomach wouldn’t let her.
“Sure, come on in.” Emery placed her pen on the stack of papers in front of her and indicated the chair across from her desk.
A look of apprehension flashed in Emery’s eyes when she closed the door behind her. She was too keyed up to sit down. Emery must have picked up on her nervousness about starting the conversation she had practiced all morning. This one would be far more difficult than the one she’d had with Camille three days earlier.
“What is it?”
“Sharon Plenner approached me and asked me to spy on you.”
Emery didn’t immediately respond but looked at her hard. She felt as if she were being dissected and Emery was deciding whether to trust what she had to say next.
“When?”
“The first time was shortly after I started.”
“The first time?” Emery asked quickly.
“Yes.” She began to feel like a traitor for not telling Emery as soon as Sharon made her initial move. “She’s approached me several times.”
“I see,” Emery said.
She hadn’t expected Emery’s calm reply. Actually she hadn’t known how Emery would react, but it certainly wasn’t this cool, almost-detached demeanor. Unsettled, she continued.
“She said she was looking for someone to help keep Martin on the right track, as she phrased it.”
“And what did you say?”
“I told her no,” she said firmly. Emery’s expression didn’t change. “I said I was uncomfortable with the conversation and that if she had a problem with you, she needed to deal with it through proper board channels.”
Emery rubbed her eyes and simply nodded.
“She didn’t vote for you.”
“I know.”
Elliott was right. Emery did know what was going on with her board members. “She’s fishing for information about your leave.” Emery’s eyes narrowed and something dangerous flashed in them.
“What did you tell her?” Emery’s voice was cold.
Her gut clenched. Did Emery actually think she would tell Sharon? Did she think she would give Sharon any information she could use as ammunition? They might have pretended to be total strangers, but didn’t Emery know her better than that?
“Nothing.” She wasn’t sure if Emery sighed with relief or simply took a deep breath.
“Thank you.”
“For what?” she asked, her nerves giving way to anger. “For not ratting on you, my boss, the woman who has given me a chance to help make this company successful? Not agreeing to spy on you and report back to the likes of Sharon Plenner? Not using our time together on the ship as a means of bringing you to your knees? Not defiling what we had by becoming a traitor to what we shared?” She stopped, suddenly aware she was close to losing control.
“For confirming what I suspected,” Emery replied coolly. “It was pretty clear that Sharon didn’t want me for this job. She hates the fact that I’m a lesbian and can’t get past it.” Emery rose from her chair, looked out the window, and straightened her back.
“I have taken this company from the brink of disaster, with zero shareholder value, to a market cap of over eighteen billion and complete and utter respectability in half the time they gave me.” Emery chuckled, turning around to face her.
“I just got word this morning that Martin is officially off the government watch list. There will be no more sanctions or second looks at our practices. We are preparing a press release, and when it hits the street, our stock will skyrocket. And Sharon Plenner is more concerned about who I have sex with than the millions
of dollars I have made our investors, her included.” Emery shook her head and put her hands in her pockets.
“It’s people like her that make me want to throw it all away and do something completely different. But I don’t. You know why?”
She knew it was a rhetorical question and sat quietly waiting.
“Because of people like Lars Calhoun in accounting, who worked ninety-hour weeks trying to do the right thing. It’s for David Sandling in purchasing, who missed his daughter’s first birthday because the fracture project was due the next day. It’s because of the dozens of people who called in to the ethics hotline to help clean up the shit this company was oozing.”
Emery turned and looked at her, and she felt the intensity of Emery’s position. She also felt petty and embarrassed by her self-centered thought. “It’s because of people like you who refuse to do anything but the right thing.”
“Now if you’ll excuse me I have some calls to make,” Emery said, effectively dismissing Dana. She had to get her out of her office before she fell apart. Her hands were in her pockets so Dana couldn’t see how badly they were shaking. She had to pace or she’d faint. What Dana had told her had completely thrown her world into a tailspin and she had to fight to keep it from crashing—at least in front of Dana.
Dana pulled the door closed behind her and she stumbled into her chair. Her head was swimming and she fought back the nausea that threatened to make her throw up. She’d known Sharon was trouble and suspected she had gone as far as to try to cultivate an insider. As far as she could tell Sharon hadn’t succeeded, and Dana’s revelation confirmed it.
She hadn’t lied to Dana. Lately she had been having more thoughts about moving on. She could now. She had completed her mission. Martin was once again a good, corporate citizen and, thanks to her own confidence, she had negotiated a very large bonus if this happened before the end of five years.